Saving Ferris - Guest Post and Excerpt

By A.R. Kennedy

ISBN-10: 1718150709

ISBN-13: 978-1718150706

Independently published

Paperback: 394 pages

September 23, 2018, $9.99

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Also available for Kindle

After Cecilia’s husband dies, she’s forced to become Ferris’s caregiver, something she does not immediately warm to. But when his life is threatened by an intruder, she shoots the intruder to save the golden retriever. Police Chief Holden Owens thinks Cecilia acted lawfully, but few agree. The prosecutor feels that Cecilia has committed murder, not self-defense. In the eyes of the law, one can use lethal force to protect themselves and others, but not property. Pets are considered property. Holden loses his fight with the prosecutor and is now in a new fight—his undeniable attraction to Cecilia. Celebrity defense attorney Wyatt Sewell identifies a sympathetic defendant, a case he can win, and a way to garner more acclaim. When he learns of Cecilia’s motive, to save Ferris, he sees a blockbuster case that can set legal precedent. He forces the jurors to ask themselves— Is your pet property or family? Will saving Ferris's life cost Cecilia her freedom? And a second chance at love?

Guest Post

Any writer will tell you the importance of editing. (And the importance of a having a great editor. Thank you Lourdes Venard!). Editing consists of two elements — developmental editing (big picture review of your story and its structure and characters) and copy editing (basic level review for grammar and spelling). 

When I first started writing I had the naive notion that you wrote a book, you re-read it to review it and then you were finished. Oh no, there are so many more drafts than just that first one and the final one.  

I have no idea how many drafts I had of Saving Ferris. There was the first one, the one I sent to beta readers, the first one I sent to my editor, the edited one she returned to me, the second one with many changes I sent back to her, the second edited version, several proofread versions and then finally the final one, which I hope you read (and enjoy!)

Last week I was in Israel. For 12 days, I traveled around the country with a group who first started out as strangers. By the end, a few of us were friends. (Getting lost in an Arab market and repeatedly being mistaken for family will do that).

I’ve always loved to travel. Trips over the past few years have a new objective as I seek inspiration for a cozy mystery series, The Traveling Detective, that I am currently seeking representation for.

After becoming inspired at the Dead Sea for an upcoming novel is this series (Yes, I know it seems obvious that the fictional death would occur at the ‘Dead’ Sea but when the muse strikes, it strikes!), we were off to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. 

Per deadseascrolls.org.il, ‘Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).’ 

Our guide, Adina, gave us a thorough tour of the area and told us that many of the scrolls found are identical to texts in the Bible.

(The deadseascrolls.org.il confirmed this. ‘Many biblical manuscripts closely resemble the Masoretic Text, the accepted text of the Hebrew Bible from the second half of the first millennium ce until today. This similarity is quite remarkable, considering that the Qumran Scrolls are over a thousand years older than previously identified biblical manuscripts.’)

I was astonished to learn this! Can you imagine copying manuscripts thousands of years ago in the desert? And not making mistakes? They didn’t have white-out, auto-correct, or extra paper to just start over. 

I’m a good typist but I still make a lot of mistakes. I cannot imagine the amount of mistakes I would make having to handwrite something, in the heat of the desert. 

While my fellow travelers were most likely overwhelmed by the scenery and the amazing find of the Dead Scrolls, I was reminded how much I am thankful for my MacBook and my editor!

Saving Ferris Excerpt     (First chapter)

Cecilia woke up. She’d never get used to the darkness of country nights. She rolled over to return to sleep and heard the noise that must have been the cause of the early wake-up call. A small yip from the window. She mumbled her displeasure and slapped her husband’s side of the bed.

“Joey, wake up.” No response. “Joey.” She reached for him again and found nothing but his cold pillow. A small yip again. “Dumb dog,” she mumbled. She was fully awake now, remembering why her husband’s side of the bed was empty. Why it would forever be empty. 

Cecilia sat up at the edge of the bed and hung her head. She no longer wanted to be in the empty bed. A low growl emanated from the dog. “Okay, Ferris. I’m coming.”

She snapped on a nightlight and shielded her eyes from the small, yet bright, light. In the city, she could have seen the bedroom without such an aid. Some people called it light pollution. Cecilia called it the life of the city.

She could make out the profile of Ferris, staring out the window onto their backyard. He stood tall enough that his head rested on the windowsill. She often found the golden retriever looking out any window of the house like this. Waiting for Joey to return, she assumed. She had done it for weeks too. 

But tonight, he stood at alert. 

“Do you want to go out or what? Remember, I’m not the one who likes you, so hurry up.”

He turned his head briefly and looked at her, then returned his attention to the backyard. “I am not taking you out in the middle of the night to chase a squirrel.” The backyard’s motion sensor light was on and she cursed the squirrel that must have triggered it.

She started to lie back down and return to her dreamless sleep. The dreams, in reality and in sleep, had disappeared with Joey. The call of nature diverted her and she headed to the bathroom instead. 

With the door to the hallway open and the rest of the house now available, Ferris took off and ran down the stairs. “I’ll take that as I got to go now too, woman.”

Putting Ferris’s bathroom needs before her own, she followed him downstairs to the kitchen’s sliding glass door, his exit to the spacious backyard. It was far more likely he’d have an accident than she and she didn’t want to spend the rest of the night cleaning up his mess.

She snapped on the kitchen light. Now that she was fully awake, the light no longer caused discomfort. She doubted she’d return to sleep again tonight anyway.

“Calm down,” Cecilia told the dog as she struggled to put on his leash. “I know Joey lets you run around but I’m not chasing you at two in the morning.” It was no surprise that Ferris continued to move. Listening was not his forte. It was how he got homed here. 

Cecilia finally got the camouflage leash on Ferris’s collar and opened the sliding glass door. Ferris squeezed through before she had it fully open, pulling her through as well. An alarm beeped and she reached for the doorframe to stop her momentum. “Ferris, come on!” 

Ferris had a lot of flaws but pulling her on their walks was not one of them. Holding the leash in one hand and firmly placing her foot over the doorframe, she quickly punched in the alarm code. The incrementally louder and faster beeping stopped. She stepped onto the patio and Ferris pulled her onto the backyard’s grass. “You really are a pain in the tush tonight.”

The motion light flicked on as Ferris pulled her into the middle of the yard. He stopped and surveyed what Cecilia figured he imagined as his kingdom. Again, he was in high alert. 

She looked around the yard but could only see as far as the backyard’s light illuminated. She couldn’t see the fence that ran around the acre of land. She couldn’t see her closest neighbor’s home. She couldn’t see anything but Ferris. And her breath in the cool night air. 

“What’s wrong with you?” She patted him on his back. Usually when she petted him on his back, he squirmed in glee. Tonight, she didn’t think he even noticed the touch. 

With the damp grass soaking through her socks, Cecilia wished she had put on shoes. The chill ran up her body and she regretted not putting on a jacket as well. Joey’s T-shirt and boxers did little to keep her warm. Hoping to generate a little warmth, she told Ferris, “Come on, one lap and we’re back in.” Several pulls on his leash yielded no movement. With no motion, the yard’s light flipped off. Suddenly engulfed in darkness, Cecilia let out a short scream. 

Ferris twirled around, yanking Cecilia with him. As the light flipped back on, Cecilia screamed again.

Alicia Kennedy

A R Kennedy was born and raised on Long Island, New York. (And no, she doesn't have that Long Island accent). The finale of her Nathan Miccoli Mystery series, the 8th in the series, is expected in 2019. 

When not working on her next novel, she works full time in healthcare to feed (and sometimes clothe) her two little dogs. Both are named after her favorite fictional characters from British entertainment, which few friends and neighbors understand. 

The Nathan Miccoli Mystery series is her debut series.
Her next book, Saving Ferris, is expected September 2018.

Guest Post - Catherine Dilts

Journey to a Dream by Catherine Dilts

Are you an aspiring author? Perhaps you’re just curious about how a person decides to become a writer, instead of a doctor, carpenter, or store clerk. Everyone’s experience is different. This is my journey to the dream of becoming a published author.

The first book I remember reading was One Fish Two Fish by Dr. Seuss. I was five years old when letters combined in patterns magically jumped off the page as words that meant something. It was like learning a secret code. I was hooked on reading from then on.

I enjoyed writing from a young age, too. My siblings and I wrote ridiculous plays that our indulgent great aunts would patiently act out with us. My favorite grade school assignments involved writing.

Yet when the time came to decide on a college degree, I shied away from creative writing. Warned that art was a fine hobby, but that I needed a job that would pay the bills, I set aside the dream of becoming an author.

While in my last year of college, I took a creative writing class as an elective. There I met two people who became lifelong friends. We encouraged each other in the dream of becoming authors. As I attended conferences and critique groups, I found my tribe. The world of fiction writing was where I felt most comfortable.

I won a writing contest, which fanned the flames of my confidence. Fame and fortune were within my grasp. Nope. Getting a book published is hard work. I had to learn to be thick-skinned, accepting criticism and rejection.

I spent a lot of time and money writing, going to conferences, and buying postage (this was the era of snail-mailing paper submissions). I used up enough paper to denude a rainforest. Other experiences in life taught me it is often darkest before the dawn. Illogical as it seemed, I kept pressing toward my goal.

In the meantime, I toiled away in an unsatisfying job that paid the bills. I believed as soon as I sold a book, I could quit working. Nope. I learned that most authors have day jobs. Very few make a living writing fiction. Although that was discouraging, I still wanted to become published.

I worked my way into a more satisfying career, which provided terrific inspiration. In 2012, I sold a short story and a novel. I had achieved my goal. Surely now things would become easier. Publishers would be clamoring for my work. Nope. Every story is a journey. I now have six published novels, and I feel like I’m just beginning to understand this business.

My newest novel, Survive Or Die, combines my experiences in the corporate world, set in my favorite place to escape work pressures, the Colorado mountains. A company team-building exercise at a survivalist camp results in mayhem and murder.

I’m living my dream. It looks different than I imagined, and doesn’t include fame and my own private island. But it’s where I belong. And maybe it’s where you belong, too. Keep writing!

Catherine Dilts is the author of the Rock Shop Mystery series, while her short

stories appear regularly in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She takes a turn in the multi-author sweet cozy mystery series Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library with Ink or Swim. With a day job as an environmental regulatory technician, Catherine's stories often have environmental or factory-based themes. Others reflect her love of the Colorado mountains. The two worlds collide in Survive Or Die, when a manufacturing company holds a team building exercise in the wilderness. You can learn more about Catherine’s fiction at http://www.catherinedilts.com/

A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese

Genre: Middle Grade,  Fantasy

Source: I Received an ARC from the author to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Whenever I approach a new book to review for middle grade students and my shelves at school I look at it through two different lenses. The first is that of a middle school teacher. Is this something that I would recommend to my fellow teachers? Is it a book I would recommend to my students and put on my shelves? Most importantly, is this a book that I can talk about with students because the message within is important?  The second lens I look through is that of a grandparent. Is this a book that my grandchildren will enjoy and thus pass on to their teachers, and class-mates.  This book goes above and beyond what I would normally recommend.

I have often spoke of the school I teach in. We are an IB school. We have several “Learner Profiles” that are a major part of our teachings.  One of them is being “caring”.  We require our students to complete community service in every grade.  So, the idea that you have a group of students who set about to change the lives of people in their town made this a worth-while book.  The book takes place in a small town named Cliffs Donnelly. Many of the major businesses in the town are closing. Two boys out exploring a tunnel realize, by accident, they have walked underneath the city’s wishing well. When they hear a class-mates wish a decision is made to help make it come true. 

I loved that this book is told from multiple perspectives.  I know that this will drive many people nuts. This has been their number one complaint of my own book. There are many more like me who love the different perspectives. I felt in this case it made the issues and secrets in the story, that are discovered within the town, more well-rounded.  We learn that we can’t always judge a book, or bully by its cover. Things aren’t always what they seem. We also learn what one act of kindness can do and how it can be carried forward.  These are lessons that we as teachers, parents, and grandparents want our kids to learn. There is no better way to learn this than through a book.  I believe that many students will be able to relate to this book in a variety ways.  I place this up there with one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I really can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

This book comes out February 26^, just two days away. This is a must read book so get ready to get your copy.

About the Author from Scholastic website

Keith Calabrese is an author and screenwriter who holds a degree in creative writing from Northwestern University. A former script reader, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, kids, and a dog who thinks he's a mountain goat.